An inkjet web press is a high-speed, digital, industrial inkjet printing solution that prints on a continuous media web at speeds of hundreds of feet per minute. A roll of media (e.g., paper) on an unwinding device supplies the press with a paper web which is conveyed through the press along a media path. Stationary inkjet printheads along the media path eject ink droplets onto the web to form images. The paper web is then conveyed through a drying area and out of the press through rollers to be rewound on a rewinding device.
Aqueous inks used in inkjet printing contain a significant amount of water that can saturate the paper. The moisture content of the paper and tension along the paper path within the press, among other factors, can cause the paper to expand, lengthening the paper web. However, when the paper is dried, it can shrink back down to a length below its initial state. Therefore, the length of paper coming out of the press is often different than the length of paper being fed into the press. Among other things, this media distortion can complicate post-print finishing operations performed on the printed material by certain finishing devices.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.